Cloud-based processing and storage of data has been available for several years. Cloud-based systems, such as for instance Amazon® Web Services (AWS), provide online computing and storage services for other web sites or client-side applications. In such systems the computing and storage services are billed to the client based on usage, which has given rise to the concept of “Elastic Computing.” Elastic Computing is the ability of a cloud service provider to provision flexible computing power when and wherever required. The elasticity of these resources can be in terms of processing power, storage, bandwidth, etc. Current systems, of which AWS is typical, are based on data centers that are distributed throughout the world, grouped into distinct regions for providing services therein. For instance, AWS is located in eight geographical regions including Northern Virginia (US East), Northern California (US West), Oregon (US West), São Palo (Brazil), Ireland, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney. Each region has multiple “Availability Zones,” which are distinct data centers providing AWS services. Availability Zones are isolated from each other to prevent outages from spreading between Zones.
Traditional cloud-based computing and storage systems suffer from a number of disadvantages. In particular, it is costly to purchase the hardware and other infrastructure, such as for instance buildings, power distribution systems, air-conditioning systems etc., that are required to set up a data center. Of course, these costs are repeated to establish each of the multiple data centers within multiple regions around the world. Further, the ongoing cost to maintain and operate each data center is high, with the cost of power for servers and cooling systems making up a significant and increasing portion of the total cost of ownership. Traditional systems are also susceptible to service outages, which may affect a significant number of users within a geographical region and result in financial losses for the cloud computing provider.
It would be beneficial to provide a method and system that overcomes at least some of the above-mentioned limitations of the prior art.